"Every time I make a mistake, I get mad at myself because I know Peyton (Manning) is counting on me," Thomas told ESPN.com last week. "I have to be good. Peyton picked the Broncos, and I have to make him know he made the right choice."

Thomas wasn't huddled in a darkened closet when he uttered these words, and he shouldn't be. The Denver Broncos third-year wideout has inspired praise from Manning himself.

"He's had a productive OTA session and minicamp," Manning said. "I think he's running his routes with a lot of confidence and making a lot of tough catches."

Thomas did what he could with his chances last season, but he was targeted about as frequently as Zane Beadles in the Tim Tebow-led read-option offense. It wasn't all bad. When we last checked in with Thomas, he was on the receiving end of Tebow's 80-yard scoring strike in overtime of Denver's wild-card victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. But that play, and his totals that day -- four catches for 204 yards and the TD -- weren't typical of his Sundays in 2011.